Last week Scott Portman wrote,
>Are there any CP's that react adversely to iron in the
>water.
I haven't found too many.
I am fortunate enough that the apartment I'm presently
living in doesn't soften the water, so I can use it straight
from the tap for my CP. It is, however, fairly high in
dissolved iron (not enough for me to notice in the taste,
but a quick water test says it's there, big time).
The plants don't seem to mind this at all. The
terrestrial and semiaquatic Utrics, even _P. ionantha_ and
_P. planifolia_, which this year are being grown as
semiaquatics, are fowering profusely, with no decrease in
vigor noted. I mist my Heliamphoras daily with this water,
and at least one is showing signs of getting ready to
flower.
My personal observation in the field is that many N.A. CP of
the coastal plain grow in areas where iron can be observed
leaching from the substrate they are growing in.
While much of this "Bog Iron" is an insoluble
precipitate, and not available to the plants, it is likely
that some Fe ions are present and maybe utilizable by the
plants. If I'm not mistaken, Miracid, the commercial
fertiliser (which I use from time to time on most of my CP),
contains chelated iron.
All of the above is speculation on my part, as I haven't
taken soil or water samples in the field. Perhaps someone
else on the list has?